Random Topps Card of the Day: 1983 Topps Traded #61T Joe Lefebvre

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, December 6, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1983 Topps Traded #61T.
• Player Name, position, team: Joe Lefebvre, outfielder-third baseman, Philadelphia Phillies.
• Major League Debut: May 22, 1980.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1982 stats (Hawaii, AAA-Pacific Coast): 8 G, 32 AB, 7 R, 11 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB, .500 SLG, 4 BB, 5 SO, .344 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Yankees, #3rd, June 1977. Traded by the Padres to the Phillies 05/22/1983. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 7. This is his fifth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Cracked Double with 2 RBI's in 6-2 win at Montréal, 05/15/1982. Belted 9th inning Homer to tie score at Houston, 08/03/1982. Went 3-for-3, August 8, 1982."
• Commentary: I'll be honest, I was kind of torn about which last line to use for his "Last Line of Statistics:" bullet point.  Should I use his Padres line (his last line of MLB statistics on this card) or the real last line of statistics, which consisted of his 8 games in Hawaii.  At the end, I went with the Hawaii statistics.  His MLB statistics with the Padres were:  102 G, 239 AB, 25 R, 57 H, 9 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB, .326 SLG, 18 BB, 50 SO, .238 AVG.  After 18 games into the 1983 season, Joe was traded from the Padres to the Phillies in exchange for Sid Monge.  He appeared in 101 games for the NL Champion Phil's, hitting a career high .310 with 8 home runs, 38 rbi's, and an OPS of .930.  He showed up in the leaderboards, finishing 7th in triples.  A knee injury marred most of his 1984 season as well as all of 1985.  He came back at the beginning of the 1986 for 14 games, but after hitting .111 in 21 plate appearances, he retired as an active player.  He presently is an assistant hitting coach with the San Francisco Giants.
• Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2002 Topps #393. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Team Set of the Week:

• Team: 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates
• Record: 72-90, fourth place, NL Central Division.
• Manager: Clint Hurdle
• Card on the Top: Pedro Alvarez

The checklist consists of the following players:

• PIT1 Pedro Alvarez
• PIT2 Andrew McCutchen
• PIT3 Matt Diaz
• PIT4 Chris Snyder
• PIT5 Jose Tabata
• PIT6 Neil Walker
• PIT7 James McDonald
• PIT8 Joel Hanrahan
• PIT9 Evan Meek
• PIT10 Lyle Overbay
• PIT11 Ross Ohlendorf
• PIT12 Jason Jaramillo
• PIT13 Daniel McCutchen
• PIT14 Garrett Jones
• PIT15 Kevin Correia
• PIT16 Paul Maholm
• PIT17 PNC Park

The cards in order from the set (the checklist at the end was cut from the back of the package. What, you don't do that?):

Key differences between the team set and 2011 Topps eponymous set:

• Matt Diaz and Daniel McCutchen do not appear in either 2011 Topps or 2011 Topps Update Series. This is the only product you will find a card of either player using the 2011 Topps design.

• In the 2011 base set, Pedro Alvarez is congratulated after hitting a home run (he has to be, his head is down as he's running the corner):
  
  

• Chris Snyder swings for the fences in his base set:
  
  

• Jose Tabata running the bases (and vertically oriented) on his base card:
  
  

• Hey, Topps placed their ASRT Rookie Cup on the right card this time (see Starlin Castro...in just last week's edition of RTTSotW) in the retail set as in the eponymous set.  But because Topps gave all players in the ASRT two cards, here is his second card:
  
  

• Joel Hanrahan, in landscape form, in the base set:
  
  

• Lyle Overbay was a Blue Jay the year before, and you can see here the original picture that was used to photoshop the Pirates jersey on him in the retail set. He does make it into the Update Series as a Pirate:
  
  

• Kevin Correia made it to the All-Star Game in 2011, but he was in a Padre uniform the year before. As with Overbay, the original photo was altered to show Correia in a Bucs jersey. And just like Overbay, he made it into the Update Series:
  
  

So of the 17 players included in this set, only seven had obvious picture variances, and two of them were because they played for another team.  They were both included as Pirates in the Update Series though.  So the photoshopped images that were included in the retail set are unique to that set.

Next week's featured set will be the 2007 Topps Minnesota Twins. Hope you'll be here when we compare the cards from the retail set to their counterparts found in Topps and Topps Update and Highlights.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Tops Card of the Day: 1993 Topps #723: Kenny Felder

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, December 5, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1993 Topps #723.
• Player Name, position, team: Ken Felder, outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1992 stats (Florida State University): 28 G, 97 AB, 22 R, 26 H, 7 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 0 SB, .464 SLG, 8 BB, 31 SO, .268 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Brewers, #1st, June 1992. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 1. This is his first and only Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "An exciting player who can carry a team with his bat, Kenny is a power-hitting threat. A strong slugger, his checked-swing efforts at Florida State University often carried deep to the outfield. Kenny led FSU in Home Runs and Slugging Percentage as a freshman in 1990. One of his most incredible performances saw him belt 2 Home Runs in one inning vs. VMI, February 23. Kenny delivered a pinch-Grand Slam vs. Cincinnati as a freshman. He also competed in football at FSU as a quarterback."
• Commentary: Topps' foray into a whiter color stock now allowed for a larger color palette for the back of the cards that could not be utilized with gray-stocked paper.  Brighter color selections for every team plus the use of colored pictures on the back were nothing new to baseball cards, but it seemed that Topps was the last of the big 5 to finally catch up to their competitors.  Kenny Felder had the credentials to justify the Brewers to pick him in the first round of the 1992 draft.  He hit .258 with 21 home runs, drove in 99 rbi's, and had a slugging percentage of .485 in three years at FSU.  He climbed the Brewers' minor league system for five years, playing full seasons in each level (rookie, low-A, A, AA, and AAA).  In his year with the Triple A in the Brewers minor league system, he may have hit a low .216, but hit 17 home runs and 45 rbi's.  But injuries took its toll during the 1996 season, even though he was productive for the Zephyrs.  But a freak accident during his first batting session for rehabilitation ended any chances of returning to professional baseball.  I am only going to link the trial information that goes into further detail as to what happened to Felder.  Needless to say, it only shows some of the dangers athletes expose themselves to when participating in sports, professional or otherwise. 
• Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.

Tomorrow's card will be 1983 Topps Traded #61T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1995 Topps Traded and Rookies #50T Mickey Tettleton

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, December 4, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1995 Topps Traded and Rookies #50T.
• Player Name, position, team: Mickey Tettleton, catcher-designated hitter, Texas Rangers.
• Major League Debut: June 30, 1984.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1994 stats (Tigers): 107 G, 339 AB, 57 R, 84 H, 18 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 0 SB, .463 SLG, 97 BB, 98 SO, .248 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Athletics, #5th, June 1981.  Signed with the Rangers as a Free Agent 04/12/1995. Bats: both. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 16. This is his fourteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "A three-time Sporting News Silver Slugger award-winner at catcher, Mickey hooked up with Texas in 1995 primarily to assume a DH role.  On 06/04/1995, he nailed 2HR's with 6 RBI."
• Commentary: With a picture that looks like it could have been torn from a magazine (check the borders and shadow) to the unique font used for the player's name, the 1995 Topps Traded and Rookies set was the first update set created by Topps that was not sold in factory set form (or at least the first since 1976).  It was a hard set to complete, with Orel Hershiser being my final card, and I didn't get that one until late in 1996 (or was it in 1997...I may have told this story before).  Mickey Tettleton was already an established catcher with two All-Star appearances, including the year before with the Tigers.  The Rangers already had a superstar catcher in Ivan Rodriguez.  Why in the world did Tettleton sign with the Rangers?  While he did get some games in at catcher (3), he was primarily used as a designated hitter (58 games) and played in right field for Texas (61 games). In 1995, he appeared in 134 games, hit a decent .248, with 32 home runs, 78 rbi's, and an OPS of .906.  He stayed with the Rangers for two more years, announcing his retirement in July, 1997.  He left the game as one of the game's best hitting catchers.  At the time he retired, he was 8th in home runs by a switch hitter, 10th among catchers in OBP (.369) and eleventh in OPS (.821).
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 19 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be:  1993 Topps #723. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1993 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2004 Topps #54 Shane Halter

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, December 3, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2004 Topps #54.
• Player Name, position, team: Shane Halter, shortstop, Detroit Tigers.
• Major League Debut: April 6, 1997.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2003 stats (Tigers): 114 G, 360 AB, 33 R, 78 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR, 30 RBI, 2 SB, 27 BB, 77 SO, .342 SLG, .611 OPS, .217 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Royals, #5th, June 1991. Claimed off waivers by the Tigers 03/13/2000. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his fourth and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "In 2002, Shane asked to be traded, but he was so impressed with new manager Alan Trammell last season, that he made it a point to say how happy he was in Detroit. Though he would prefer a job that was his alone, he played as a 'third starter' in the middle infield, seeing regular action at second base and shortstop."
• Commentary: I have waxed poetic many times over about how much I love the 2004 Topps set.  From the easy-to-sort by team name header, to the fact that Topps returned to white borders for the first time since 1997, it's hard NOT to fall in love with this set (and the subsequent 2005 set...but that's for another RotC segment).  Did I mention that I also loved how Topps was able to incorporate a silhouette of the player's SAME POSE on the bottom left corner of every card??!  And then to include the player's uniform number?  How could you go wrong??!  Could you blame the guy for wanting to be traded out of Detroit?  The team went 43-119 that year, one of the worst seasons ever by a major league franchise.  But when your team decides to experiment with youth (Carlos Peña, Warren Morris, Ramon Santiago, and Eric Munson, the team's infielders from first to third, were 25, 29, 23, and 25 in age respectively), and you're 33, it's hard NOT to want to say "I want out."  But Trammell put him in action often enough all over the infield to play over 100 games for the fourth time in his career.  Not bad for a guy who's claim to fame was playing all nine positions in a major league ballgame (done on October 1, 2000).  Ironically, Halter did leave Detroit, albeit as a Free Agent.  He signed with the Anaheim Angels for the 2004 campaign, where he filled in at third for an injured Troy Glaus.  Halter himself saw limited duty for the Halos due to injuries and not-so-good offensive numbers in 2004, which wound up being his final major league season. After one year with the Cubs' minor league team in Iowa, he called it a career.  
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 4 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1995 Topps Traded and Rookies #50T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1968 Topps #213 Chico Ruiz

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, December 2, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1968 Topps #213.
• Player Name, position, team: Chico Ruiz, infield, Cincinnati Reds.
• Major League Debut: April 13, 1964.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1967 stats (Reds): 250 AB, 55 H, 12 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 13 RBI, .220 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Redlegs as a Free Agent before the 1958 season. Bats: both. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 9. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "A swift-footed infielder, Chico led the California League with 61 stolen bases in 1959, the Sally League with 55 thefts in 1960 and the American Association with 44 swipes in 1961!  In 1966, Chico was the Reds' top pinch-hitter with a fantastic .371 batting average!"
• Commentary: The burlap sack set.  The now iconic 1968 Topps set featured a unique pattern that has not been repeated since.  You have to admit that this was an interesting design choice.  The back of Ruiz' Topps card includes a cartoon trivia question asking, "Which Red pitcher set the club mark for winning 20 games?"  The answer:  Paul Derringer - 4 times.  Depending on how you spell his name, Giraldo (or Hiraldo) Sablon Ruiz tore up the bases in the minor leagues in during the 1960's.  So much so that the Reds decided to bring him to the majors in 1964.  For fans of the Philadelphia Phillies, Chico Ruiz' name is as infamous as Bucky Dent's to those in Red Sox Nation.  It is said that his steal of home on a fateful September 21 game, the only run scored that day, was the beginning of the end of the Phillies chances of winning the NL pennant.  Primarily used as a pinch hitter, he appeared in 105 games, a career high, in 1967 thanks in large part to an injury to teammate Leo Cardenas.  On days he would start, he comfortably covered 2nd and short for the Reds.  In 1968, Ruiz appeared in 85 games, again as a pinch hitter/pinch runner, although he did start at second for a majority of the Reds' games in September.  He hit .259 with 13 runs batted in, 2 doubles, 1 triple, stole 9 bases, and had an OPS of .558.  He was traded to the California Angels at the end of the 1969 season.  Tragically, Chico Ruiz' life was cut short on February 9, 1972, when he drove his car into a sign pole outside of San Diego.  He was only 33 years old.    
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.75-$2.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM..

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 2004 Topps #54. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies #T19 Paul Hoover

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, December 1, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies #T19.
• Player Name, position, team: Paul Hoover, catcher, Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
• Major League Debut: September 8, 2001.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1998 stats (Hudson Valley A-NY-Penn Leauge): 73 G, 269 AB, 51 R, 76 H, 20 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 26 SB, .409 SLG, 39 BB, 44 SO, .283 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Devil Rays, #23rd, June 1997.  Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 2. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Drafted out of Kent University as a shortstop in 1997, the Devil Rays decided the 6-1, 200-pound Hoover had outgrown the position, but would be an exceptionally athletic catcher.  He has since impressed the Rays with his quick conversion to the physical and mental demands of that position.  His arm strength is above average, and he shows quick feet."
• Commentary: When I found out that Topps finally brought back their Traded set after a three-year hiatus, I was ecstatic.  Finally, a product that would include players in their new uniforms that were not included in series 2, the rookies that would make an impact during the season, and draft picks.  Man I miss those, especially since I don't collect Bowman.  Anyway, the 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies set, although not numerically sequenced by the player's last name, was grouped in the following fashion:  Rookies/Prospects (by last name, by team last name...Angels, Astros, Athletics, etc), ten draft picks (bookended by Devil Rays prospects Josh Hamilton and Carl Crawford), and then the veterans at the end.  Hoover was among the rookies/prospects selected to represent the Devil Rays contingent (along with pitchre Ryan Rupe).  Hoover did make his debut in 2001, but his major league career consists only of 40 games played through 2010.  His career totals include a .250 batting average, 0 home runs, 8 rbi's, an OPS of .566, and defensively, a fielding percentage of .984.  Hoover, however, is not a one-eponymous-Topps-Card-wonder.  He appears in the 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights set as a member of the Marlins (#UH149) with the mandated Rookie Card logo to boot.  At 105 career plate appearances, if he managed to get himself back to the majors as a player, he would still be considered a rookie, even though the back of his Topps card would have seven lines of statistics on it.  In 2009, he signed on with the Phillies organization, and appeared with the Phils appeared in 12 games in two seasons.  In 2012, he was hired by the Rays to be the manager of the team's rookie level Gulf Coast League Rays team.  
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1968 Topps #213. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama